The Impact of Vocational Schooling on Human Capital Development in Developing Countries : Evidence from China

A number of developing countries are currently promoting vocational education and training (VET) as a way to build human capital and strengthen economic growth. The primary aim of this study is to understand whether VET at the high school level contributes to human capital development in one of those countries—China. To fulfill this aim, a longitudinal data on more than 10,000 students in vocational high school (in the most popular major, computing) and academic high school from two provinces of China are used. First, estimates from instrumental variables and matching analyses show that attending vocational high school (relative to academic high school) substantially reduces math skills and does not improve computing skills. Second, heterogeneous effect estimates also show that attending vocational high school increases dropout, especially among disadvantaged (low-income or low-ability) students. Third, vertically scaled (equated) baseline and follow-up test scores are used to measure gains in math and computing skills among the students. The results show that students who attend vocational high school experience absolute reductions in math skills. Taken together, the findings suggest that the rapid expansion of vocational schooling as a substitute for academic schooling can have detrimental consequences for building human capital in developing countries such as China.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Loyalka, Prashant, Huang, Xiaoting, Zhang, Linxiu, Wei, Jianguo, Yi, Hongmei, Song, Yingquan, Shi, Yaojiang, Chu, James
Format:	Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2015-08
Subjects:	SKILLS, STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS, ACADEMIC SKILLS, STUDENT SKILLS, SCHOOL SYSTEM, EMPLOYMENT, ENTRANCE EXAMINATION, COLLEGE, ECONOMIC GROWTH, SCHOOL TEACHERS, TEACHERS, CLASS TIME, ACADEMIC SCHOOLS, SKILLED WORKERS, ACADEMIC—HIGH SCHOOL, DROPOUT RATE, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, LOW ENROLLMENTS, GRADUATE EDUCATION, SCHOOLING, TUITION, NUMERACY, QUALITY SCHOOLS, MATH SCORES, VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL, EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, LABOR FORCE, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, HIGH SCHOOL, HIGHER EDUCATION, COLLEGE DEGREE, INSTRUCTIONAL TIME, PAPERS, SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, PROFESSOR, HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS, HIGH SCHOOL SYSTEM, EXAMS, EXAM, INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES, FACULTY, HIGH SCHOOLS, OPEN ACCESS, EXAMINATION, LITERACY, TEXTBOOKS, KNOWLEDGE, EDUCATIONAL FINANCE, MATH ACHIEVEMENT, VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS, MATHEMATICS, SCHOOL PRINCIPALS, TRAINING, SCHOOL DROP, GRADUATE, ECONOMICS OF EDUCATION, ACADEMIC HIGH SCHOOL, VOCATIONAL SECONDARY, PARENTAL EDUCATION, STUDENT OUTCOMES, JOB MARKET, VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, LEARNING, GRADUATES, RESEARCH, SCHOOL QUALITY, ACHIEVEMENT OUTCOMES, SCHOOL STUDENTS, PRIMARY DETERMINANT, PRIMARY SCHOOL, SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS, TEACHING, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, TEST SCORES, JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, LIBRARY, SCHOOL LEVEL, LIBRARIES, READING, EXAM SCORE, RURAL EDUCATION, SUBJECTS, SCHOOL YEAR, HUMAN CAPITAL, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, DROPOUT RATES, WORKERS, SCIENCE, VALUES, STUDENT, SCHOOLS, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, EDUCATION REFORM, CURRICULA, LIFELONG LEARNING, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, LABOUR MARKET, ENTRANCE EXAM, ACHIEVEMENT, SCHOOL GRADUATES, RESEARCHERS, EXPENDITURES, LITERATURE, SOCIAL SCIENCE, YOUTH, END OF GRADE, NATIONAL EDUCATION, HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT, QUALIFIED TEACHERS, VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS, SMALL SCHOOLS, INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, CURRICULUM, TEACHER, SKILLED LABOR, ACADEMIC SUBJECTS, COLLEGE ENTRANCE, STUDENT BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS, EDUCATION, VOCATIONAL SECONDARY EDUCATION, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS, ACADEMIC LEARNING, VOCATIONAL SKILLS, SKILL LEVELS, VOCATIONAL SCHOOL, STUDENT DROPOUT, INSTRUCTION, SCIENCE RESEARCH, VOCATIONAL STUDENTS, SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, UNIVERSITY, STUDENTS, EXPENDITURES PER STUDENT, HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, NUMBER OF STUDENTS, FEES, NORMAL UNIVERSITY, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, SCHOOL, SECONDARY EDUCATION, STUDENT LEARNING, COHORT OF STUDENTS,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/08/24923059/impact-vocational-schooling-human-capital-development-developing-countries-evidence-china http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22651
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